1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a casing for packaging and presentation, in particular of a friable product in the form of a solid or semisolid block. Generally this product is a make-up product, also termed a "loaf" or "cake". This product may be positioned in a compact by casting the product in its liquefied state, which is transformed after solidification into a solid and friable product capable of being taken up for use using a finger, a puff or brush. More particularly, the product aimed at by the invention is a cheek blusher, an eye shadow or a foundation cream. More particularly, the product is contained in a refill mounted in the compact in a detachable manner. The invention applies generally to any product in a powdery or pasty, solid or semi-solid form.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known make refillable casings of the make-up compact type which comprise a hollow bottom whereon a lid is articulated. Inside the hollow bottom, there are disposed one or more removable pans containing, for example make-up products of different colors.
By way of example, FR-A-2 585 935 describes a refillable compact capable of receiving at least one solid product block and comprising a manipulating element of a lever mechanism type to allow the block or blocks to be extracted for replacement. One of the problems of such a device is its complexity and hence its relatively high manufacturing cost, as well as to its fragility, in particular after multiple use.
FR-A-2 719 981 describes a packaging unit for at least one product of a solid or semisolid consistency, comprising elastic holder permitting the extraction of a refill and the positioning of a new refill. A compact of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,725.
EP-A-0081901 describes a make-up compact having therein a plurality of shallow dishes for cosmetic products, the bottom of each dish being provided with a magnet capable of cooperating with a magnetic material forming the bottom of the compact so as to keep the dishes in position inside the compact. Such a mounting system is expensive and not convenient to use.
Other examples of refillable compacts are described in FR-A-0 956 387, FR-A-2 471 326, FR-A-2 511 233, FR-A-2 488 109 and FR-A-2 686 784. These patents also describe complicated and expensive mechanisms for the mounting of the refill or refills in a detachable manner.
Another problem common to these known devices is due to the fact that when the user wishes to change the product in the compact by changing the pan, it is necessary to wait until all the product in the pan has been used up. Also, once the pan has been removed from the compact, the problem of packaging and carrying it arises, which in general takes the form of a simple hollow receptacle of shallow depth. The refill pans generally have, at the time of their sale, a heat-sealed cover which cannot be reused for subsequently reclosing the pan. Thus, once removed, the pan can only be carried with difficulty in a handbag without the risk of an inopportune fouling of the contents of the bag. Also, due to evaporation of the solvent, the preservation of the product is precarious.
Finally, there also arises the problem of the removable locking of the lid on the bottom. Typically, the casings of the make-up compact type generally have a lid articulated on the bottom around an axis of articulation. Generally, closing means are disposed so as to ensure the removable locking of the casing lid on the casing bottom in the region of the end of the compact on the opposite side to the axis of articulation. A major problem occurring in the case of inexpensive compacts is due to the fact that the articulation mechanism is fragile and largely loses its efficiency during use. The problem is accentuated by the fact that the current tendency of the market is to incorporate an increasing number of accessories in the compacts, which is in generally achieved by increasing the size of the compact and therefore by increasing the distance between the axis of articulation and the closing mechanism. This produces a lack of precision that is so much greater in the positioning of the "male" part of the closing system (generally carried by the compact lid) and the female part (generally carried by the compact bottom).
The problem is even more critical when a part of the compact is detachable. Indeed, because of the play in mounting the detachable part on the rest of the compact, it is difficult to have a correct relative positioning of the respective elements of the closing system. Moreover the fact that the assembly play increases in the course of use produces a substantial reduction in the precision of the closing system, quickly making its efficiency inadequate.